Transitioning into a new foster program hasn’t been easy for Kat. She’s had to do lots of reading, asked lots of questions, and learned lots of new things. We four are super excited about the change because we know what it all means – MORE FRIENDS!!

Today she took SueAnne and Zoe to an AAP at Petsmart. We were super jealous – Petsmart is like our second favorite place ever! We always get treats and toys there. But she didn’t forget us and brought home treats!

Frisco Humane Society does their Adopt-A-Pet (AAP) events a little differently than Kat was used to. She came home very happy though – met new friends (two-legged and four-legged) and learned new things. SueAnne and Zoe met new friends too. We hope they’ll find their own home soon – not because we don’t love them, we just want them to have a Kat of their own!

They said there were lots of other dogs there looking for homes. She says you can find them on the Frisco Humane Society website. Don’t you know someone in the DFW area looking for a furry friend?

She also got to see Danny! We miss him!!! He never tackled us, chewed on our ears, stole our toys, ate our food … but he did pee on Kat’s table … once. She seems so thrilled about his new family. They love him! We’re happy!

Cozy and loveable. Red and frightful. No matter how the dogs saw Santa – today was a huge success. Every other Saturday, Petsmart lets our rescue show up and take over their front entrance with our loveable fosters. Today was a special day – Pet Photos with Santa!

Mini dogs with red bows and jingle bells, huge dogs with Rudolf antlers, spotted dogs with Santa outfits. What a mix there was, but everyone was in their Christmas best! It was fun to just try to get the dogs to look at the camera. Most aren’t natural models so it takes squeaky toys, bouncing balls and quite a few variations of some pretty incredible and annoying noises (not really sure where they come from – deep within, I guess).

SueAnne and Danny both got new website photos with Santa. Neither were thrilled about it. BUT being there, they were seen by so many people. I’m hoping that soon they will get some great applications. They are just too precious to not have a home for Christmas!

Because today was adoption event – last night was bath time! Ooooh nooo! All four do great but it’s not their fav, too bad. Today they are clean and shiny – and I love that!

Griff kept watch to make sure those wet things didn’t get out and shake all over the place. He did a great job.

Not sure why this never posted – but it’s great! Well, it’s great now.

Nov. 21st.

Sprinting down the street, I watched a tan blurr stop every few moments, bury her head in a bush or around a mail box, and then trot, ever so proudly to the next curious spot. No, you’re not supposed to chase a dog – but what do you do when they are free. When they won’t respond to you. When there’s an empty field at the end of the street, only leading one way – busy streets.

The cold made my throat scratchy in three strides and my bare feet were already feeling the pains. But … Sunny was happy to be free and enjoying all those tempting sights and smells that she has to calmly pass each day on a leash, never permitted to leave the sidewalk.

On her fifth or sixth prance through the field, I left her. Pebbles and I went for the car – the lights would help us. I grabbed a bowl of dog food to entice her by sound. It was dinner time after all.

Twenty two minutes later, no Sunny. Almost beat and on the brink of tears, feeling defeated by the darkness, I drove home the few blocks to see if just by chance, she was going to kind enough to come home. My neighbor was just stepping off my stoop, smiling. She had found Sunny and put her in my backyard. Sunny had come home, to my utter surprise. She did love us!

Her chance at freedom is long gone. She will never jolt me so hard that her leash snaps again. Sunny is forever limited to “running free” under the shadow of our eight-foot, plank-on-plank, holeless cedar fence.

This week, we’re babysitting some fosters. Since Sunny was adopted, we are watching a few friends while their foster mom has surgery and recovers for a few days.SueAnne is a little old woman. She’s dear, loves you like a grandkid and is a little cranky to the youngsters. While she doens’t quite settle in, she wants nothing more than to be next to me. She begs for your attention, wants it all on her! That special spotlight.

Danny is a sweetheart – no joke. He’s genuinely kind, completely interested in me (not the Ladies or the Bubbas). Gotta love that. He’s going to learn a few obedience commands here but does really great. His foster mom is great with him. You can tell he’s spoiled but doesn’t act like it.

They are a fun addition to the house for right now. Pebbles begs Danny to play but I don’t know that he knows how to play with big dogs as all his foster family are itty bitty chi types. And Abbi just follows SueAnne around. She has quite an affinity for the little ones.

Sunny Girl got adopted Sunday. A whole new family for Christmas! I’m sooooo glad. She was really getting good – starting to really respond to the rules of the house. I was so proud of her

Thurs, I got word that finally an app came around for her that actually looked fantastic for her! They were looking to adopt two new pups and had fallen in love with Sunny by her pics online. By Saturday, they were practically sold and set up their home visit for Sunday. I was out of town, so a foster took her and that was the last time I hugged Sunny. She stayed with her new fam and new pup brother, Spud – her half size twin.

It was the perfect time for her to be adopted – she’s was doing GREAT! I had been more and more surprised each day at how well she was doing. She had definitely gotten the shin-dig at our place – knows what she can and cannot do. Yes, she still tried to get Pebbles’ food – it just must be better. No she didn’t always stay, she tried but then gets too excited or too disinterested. She’ll get there.

One night, not too long ago – she was in snuggle mode. Just wanting to be held the whole time, no play. I like that side of her.

Two weeks later, Sunny is still hanging out and being bossy. She’s definitely come a ways though. At our last adoption event, she didn’t bark at every passing dog. Most of the day she sat calmly in here crate enjoying those who came to see her. What a change!

She now automatically sits when coming inside, has learned get off, knows her boundaries, stays for short periods of time and is no longer jumping up on people but sits while being petted. For us, it’s been difficult to learn how Sunny responds. None of the old and faithful tactics truly work all of the time for this sweet girl. She doesn’t care to be praised or petted; she’ll wait until she has an itch. She doesn’t want treats; she’ll wait until dinner time. She doesn’t want to be scolded, she run to her nearest safe spot and plant herself for an hour.

Sunny is truly a loving lady. She wants nothing more than to snuggle or a good belly scratch. Very content to just listen to you read. She is still struggling with coming when commanded. I feel it’s partly my fault as I haven’t learned an appropriate teaching method. Other flaws: stuffed animal destruction (she loves to throw the fluff everywhere), chair dominance (though she’s learning that it’s big enough for another), and the occasional kitty nibble is just too irresistable (all in love).

Wow, we just weren’t ready for you Sunny. We’ve never had an alpha female in the house. Here we were, foster family spoiled with Miss Josie and Sunny comes over. Oh how she asserted her dominance quickly. She was here to rule the roost, or at least one dog and two kitties – she wasn’t going to boss me around, she just didn’t know it yet.

At first glance, you’d think Chihuahua, but think twice the size and spunk. Sunny snooped around those first few hours, jumping up on me, running away just so I knew she didn’t care that I wanted to pet her, growling and snapping at Pebbles. Oh she was in for a treat.

She ignored me. That is until she heard that scoop hit the dog food. She was mine. First step to asserting dominance – food control. You do not jump on me for food, you do not rush at the bowl, you do not scarf it down. She ate in her crate. Then, to the leash. She would learn that I’m a patient one – I will wait until she obeys. Nope, she wouldn’t sit. Not yet. Sunny’s a stubborn one.

That night, spent in a crate – she let us know just how unhappy she was there. Determined to be let out of that crate, every hour or so she’d start to whine. Not just any ole whine, this whine was so shrill and loud that I could hear her in the kitchen beneath us and at the back of the house. At 3 – we moved her to the garage. Didn’t do much to help. Two nights later, she was tied to the dog bed at the foot of the bed – not a peep. She even sits there quietly in the morning until I’m ready to let her loose.

Sunny has a long way to go. Pebbles will be a great help there. Coming from a house full of precious little Chi’s and other fosters, she had tons of love and lots of play time, but as an alpha dog – she needed more one-on-one time obedience training so that she can be the best adopted pup she can be.

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My Four

Pebbles

Kat saved me from a shelter when I was only six weeks old. Can you believe it? She said I was her healing puppy and it was love at first site!

Now I've got Bubbas, who love to cuddle too - even if I've nibbled on their ears all day! And I've got a big yard where I can have friends over until they find a home of their own. This dog blog is all about my foster friends, as well as, some fun stories about our lives together at Bella Cashlin (Our Beautiful Little Castle!)

Griffin and Rhino

Back in the spring of 2008, our mom, pregnant and starving, wandered onto Mimi's ranch in east Texas. Mimi is a true animal lover! Kat came to visit her Mimi and we quickly attached ourselves to her. A few days later we were heading to the city.

We're typical rough-housing brothers who are all heart. We love people and can't help ourselves from following them around close at their heels or curling up on top of them if they take a seat. We're sooo loving, most people think were weird ... that we're like dogs.

Abbi

My family was packing up all their stuff. The house was empty. What was happening? I didn't understand. Then Kat showed up. Little did I know what love she had for me and the family I would be getting - all for me! No more making up games to play by myself in the yard, no more getting swiped by the cat when I just want to play a little, no more long nights alone in the laundry room.

Now I've got a sister who loves to play (even lets me put her whole head in my mouth) and two Bubbas who like to cuddle. I even have tons of friends already! I can't believe how lucky I am.